Heroes, there is no such thing
by madam-may
Summary: Tony can't sleep without having nightmares. Flashbacks from his past keep coming back to him. He's struggling to continue after all that has happened in his life. Inspired by the Iron Man 3 trailer and general love of Tony Stark. ONESHOT.


**The following story is based of characters and situations created by Marvel Comics along with various publishers, etc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. **

**Author note: **_As said in the description, just a little oneshot inspired by the Iron Man 3 trailer. I apologise for any sadness caused! Enjoy and please review! :)x Also, I don't own the cover pic used for this fic _

"Some people call me a terrorist; I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: heroes, there is no such thing."

I opened my eyes at 6:00am as Peppers alarm went off. I hadn't slept, yet again. I had pretended though; hoping to spare Pepper the worry. I smiled as she got up and made her way to the bathroom. I shut my eyes again. Faces, places, times, moments flashed behind my eyes. Yinsen dying after doing so much for me, him saying that he would be with his family; Obadiah Stane taunting me as I lay on the couch paralysed; feeling my body be crushed underneath the original Iron Man suit I built; hearing Pepper screaming at Monaco, having to yell at her so I could save her; knowing that I was being killed by the thing that was keeping me alive; having Rhodie steal one of my suits; hearing my Dad speak to me through the ages and finally understanding; having Rhodie try to kill me; realising Pepper was in danger and fearing I wouldn't be able to get to her in time; finally holding Pepper in my arms. I sighed; lying in bed thinking over the past wasn't going to help the future. I got up and asked JARVIS to get the coffee machine working. I doubted today was going to be "my day."

Pepper arrived home late. I was beginning to get concerned but JARVIS assured me that she was in the sent car on her way home. When she finally arrived, I was in the main room, looking over the ocean. My thoughts were far from the waves.

"Tony, what's going on?" she asked as soon as we had exchanged hellos.

"What'd you mean?" I said, immediately considering all possibilities of danger.

"JARVIS took ages to let me in. It seemed like something was wrong," I thought over all that could be going wrong with the system when JARVIS interrupted me.

"Sir-" the voice began before cutting out. Then another deeper voice rang throughout the house.

"Some people call me a terrorist; I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: heroes, there is no such thing." Pepper and I turned as we heard the whirr of choppers approaching. Guns folded out from the side of them and I heard Pepper gasp. I felt the Mark VII bracelets rub against my wrists. A missile was released from the lead helicopter.

"Deploy!" I called before shielding Pepper as best I could.

The missile struck sending both of us to the floor. The foundations crumbled and I felt my house sliding off the cliff. Then, over Peppers screams, the house ripping and tearing and the waves rushing up to meet us I heard the beep signalling calibration. The suit moulded itself to me, the screen behind the mask loading before my eyes. Pepper slid past me, her hands reaching out to me, eyes wide. I followed her, now up on my feet. It was too dangerous to fly in such an enclosed space.

"Pepper!" I yelled, doubting she could hear me. More missiles attacked the house and I ducked and dodged debris as best I could, still trying to reach Pepper. More and more of the house fell victim to the water, being swallowed forever.

That was when I slipped, sliding down the practically vertical floor. I grabbed Peppers hand as I slid down. The mask of the suit flipped up and I looked into her eyes.

"I love you, Pepper." Some thick electrical wire caught around my body, pulling me further down. I tried to find my footing but to no avail. I wished I could grab Pepper and fly us out of there. I felt the greatest tug yet and released her hand. The mask flicked back down, the screen loading once again. She must have seen the desolation in my eyes because hers were filled with tears. I was yanked down into the watery depths as Pepper yelled:

"TONY!" I looked up and saw hands around her middle.

'No.' I tried to push against the wire as something I once said to Rogers rang through my mind.

"_I would just cut the wire."_

There was no cutting the wire this time, no way to get out, no way to save the one thing I couldn't live without. The wire pulled again and I was taken into the depths. I reached out toward the sunlight I could see, knowing Pepper was there, knowing I had to save her.

I felt myself slam into the ocean floor and everything went black.


End file.
